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Poland contains the largest insurance industry in Central and Eastern Europe. The country's life insurance segment recorded strong growth in gross written premiums during the review period (2007-2011). This life insurance growth was supported by Poland's stable economic development, increasing disposable income levels, improving awareness of the benefits of insurance products and government initiatives to develop a better insurance industry in the country. The life insurance segment is expected to benefit from product innovations introduced by insurers over the forecast period, and changes in Poland's social security and pension system will also increase the demand for life insurance and savings products.

Ear care remained fairly steady in 2011, recording an increase of 1% in current value terms, with sales of EUR21 million. There were no significant new product developments during the review period, although 2011 saw an interesting innovation, Debrox, which is an isotonic solution, comes with a specially shaped rubber syringe to help the user when applying the solution. In general, consumers are either increasingly shifting towards natural solutions to cure minor problems, or are opting for Rx...

In the last couple of years, clinical studies intensified to test the efficacy of herbal products in the treatment of certain pathologies, such as inflammatory diseases (arthritis and back pain, for example), hypertension and coughs and colds, and for the body as a whole. This resulted in better information and wider knowledge about herbal/traditional products and their benefits. In 2011, demand for herbal/traditional remedies continued to be supported by consumers' increased knowledge about...

The Egyptian infrastructure construction market accounted for 45.8% of the total value of the Egyptian construction industry in 2011, recording a strong CAGR of 15.18% during the review period. This growth was primarily attributed to significant infrastructure investments made by the Egyptian government, including three stimulus packages, coupled with increased private investment in Egyptian infrastructure development. As a result of significant developments in road and energy infrastructure, the Egyptian infrastructure construction market is expected to record a CAGR of 9.90% over the forecast period.

Datamonitor estimates that there were 62.9 million diagnosed active asthma cases in the seven major markets in 2011, and these are forecast to rise to 64.8 million total cases by 2021. Stable prevalence rates and modest population increases are responsible for the small change in the number of cases during this period.

The US regulatory environment for generic drugs evolved in a number of ways over 2011 and early 2012. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed bills that would implement generic user fees as part of wider Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) re-authorization. An agreement must still be reached regarding differences between the bills before being signed by President Obama.